He agreed to an 8 ½ year sentence, $1 million in
restitution, and forfeiture of millions in property and
money.

Viola, meanwhile, got 12 ½ years in jail. He
operates a blog, Free TonyViola.com, from which he
continues to protest the charges and his sentence.

RONNIE DUKE

Hard to imagine that a single man in Michigan
could lead a nearly $100 million mortgage fraud
conspiracy, but that’s exactly what happened in the
mid-2000s.

Ronnie Duke, of Fenton, stood trial in 2013
for masterminding a scheme involving more than

450 fraudulent loans, more than 100 buyers,and nearly 180 residential properties in Detroitused as collateral for the loans, according to anannouncement from the FBI’s Detroit Division atthe time. The loans were estimated to range fromroughly $350,000 to $600,000, with most goinginto default and foreclosure.

Duke allegedly ran the scheme with at least
15 co-conspirators, duping lenders from 2003-
2007 with counterfeit purchase agreements, fake
closing documents, and fictitious title companies.
According to local media, the scheme ended when
Duke himself went to the authorities. In addition
to his 13-year sentence, Duke was ordered to pay
$1 million in fines and a whopping $94 million in
restitution.

Sadly, the story doesn’t end there. Duke, whose
rap sheet also includes embezzlement, credit
card fraud, and aggravated stalking, among other
charges, went on the run instead of reporting to jail,
going on to assault an assistant U.S. attorney in court
following his recapture. Local news outlets report
that he has since tried to escape at least once more.

www.mbanj.comMBA-NJ is pleased to announce that themuch applauded team of Barry Habib andPeter Boockvar are coming back to the NEConference of Mortgage Brokers andProfessionals in October. Barry and Peterhave appeared together at the NEConference and the Regional Conferenceand the comments of those in attendanceshowed their presentations to be the bestavailable at any conference dealing withresidential mortgage lending! Both Barryand Peter bring a great deal of informationand insights to the Conference and will addto what will be a great program formortgage lenders, brokers, andprofessionals. Watch for more programinformation to be available soon.